Well, it was a tough to do, but I am back at work after spending last week in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Our trip started in Orlando with a visit to the Kennedy Space Center. We were able to see several launch pads, including ones being reconfigured for futuristic launch vehicles, as well as ride the new Shuttle Launch Experience, which was a “blast” (sorry, I couldn’t resist that). As a boy, I was obsessed with Space exploration; I remember spending countless hours working on a model of the 363-foot tall Saturn V rocket used for most of the Apollo and Skylab missions in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Being up-close and personal with one of these behemoth rockets was very humbling. I tell people that I work in a technology field, but that is technology at its finest!

White sands and the sound of crashing ocean waves accompanied beautiful sunsets and the sun-kissed warmth of the Atlantic Ocean. If you have never been to this part of the world then I thoroughly recommend it, although be sure to pack your sunscreen as it is pretty hot and humid. I just hope that this side of the coast line remains unaffected by the environmental disaster that is happening on the gulf coast side.

Anyway, I am glad to be back in Minnesota now. (Did that sound at all convincing?)

In my absence, there was fevered discussion about the possible abolition of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by the U.S. Supreme Court due to the challenge on a section of the law. But before you start cheering with delight that your complex reporting requirements are over, Monday saw the court give unanimous support to the section that could have caused the entire act to be thrown out due to the fact that the government did not build “severability” into the law. Severability allows a law to remain standing even if parts are discarded as being unconstitutional, so if this one section was ruled unconstitutional, the whole law would have been eliminated.

To add to the requirement of having good reporting practices in place, new laws are also currently being pushed through Congress, although some may actually reduce the reporting burden on smaller companies.

From the PowerTech corner, Network Security Version 6 has been extremely well-received in the market place. We recently updated and executed the first online training sessions to include Version 6 enhancements, and will be scheduling another class for next quarter. We are also preparing for a similar class on Authority Broker, so watch out for that announcement. If you are interested in any type of custom training (onsite or remote), then contact Nancy Berg, our services coordinator.

Drop me a line at robin.tatam@powertech.com for more information about PowerTech, or visit www.powertech.com.

Cheers!

- rt

Hi everyone!

Visiting with customers is one of my favorite activities, so I was excited that last week’s Midrange Mixer in Rochester, MN brought in a lot of IBM i users. This time, the event was hosted at the famous Michael’s restaurant (as designated by the hundreds of celebrity photos hanging in the main hallway) in downtown Rochester. We welcomed a large number of customers and prospective customers for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and Jeopardy-style games. I must say, it’s amazing how much easier those questions are to answer when you are NOT sitting in the hot seat!

The evening’s table conversations were very stimulating, with numerous companies seeking assistance with their security projects. PowerTech’s recent introduction of Network Security Version 6 and other enhancement projects in the works were a topic of discussion, as was our great no-charge compliance assessment solution. I know Tom Huntington encountered a similar response regarding multi-platform scheduling, and other Help/Systems specialties. I must say, it’s good to hear about healthy business initiatives again.

Thanks must go to our own Heath Kath, Technical Sales Consultant for SEQUEL Software, for his willingness to don the (in)famous Robot suit, and stand out on the streets of Rochester to welcome everyone to the party! (Thanks also go to my over-six-feet tall parents for ensuring that the suit does not fit me!)

If you are also embarking on a new security project, drop me a line to find out how PowerTech can put our resources to work for you. With skilled security engineers, and our well-known security software solutions, we have the tools to get the job done right—regardless of your security or compliance objectives.

As part of summer, we are slowing our weekly Webinar schedule to approximately two per month. Look for our security workshops and Webinars to resume their normal schedule in September. As always, the PowerTech Website and PowerNews electronic newsletter are a great source of information, and both sources have the upcoming event schedule for June, July and August.

Speaking of summer, I am taking time off work next week to take my kids on a highly anticipated vacation to the southern climes of Boca Raton, Florida. Following my visit to Orlando for COMMON last month, I saw what a fabulous place this would be for a family trip to the beach. Thanks to my foreign exchange student “brother” for his hospitality at the beautiful ocean-front resort he manages in Deerfield Beach.

Drop me a line at robin.tatam@powertech.com for more information about PowerTech, or visit www.powertech.com.

Cheers!

- rt

Although it is normally nice to return home after a stint of living out of a suitcase, it was definitely a shame to leave the sun and surf of Orlando. There must be something about someone who lives in a “cooler” part of the world heading to warmer climates, as last week literally flew by. Today is rainy and cold in Minneapolis, and I am already aching to hop the quick three-hour flight back down to the sandy beaches. (Not that I spent any time there during the conference, of course!)

In all seriousness, the COMMON annual meeting was a great success for us. Three days of exposure at the expo talking to existing customers about their successes, as well as new faces that are learning how PowerTech can bring so much value to IBM i security projects.

While it seems a few of the attendees were unaware that PowerTech is a member of the Help/Systems family until they saw the joint booth and marquee, the number of people that walked by and indicated that they were already running tools from either one or both sides of the house was very impressive. Of course, we are not resting on our laurels: Today marks the official release of version 6 of Network Security, our leading exit point solution. While talking to expo attendees, it was also fun to discover when they were running just one of the PowerTech tools and to introduce them to another one of the modules.

I also enjoyed presenting three educational sessions on security topics to COMMON attendees:

• 7 Habits of Highly Secure Organizations

• State of IBM i Security Study 2010

• How To Prevent a Data Leak on IBM i

There were over 1000 attendees at this year’s event; up significantly from last year’s event in Reno, Nevada. As an exhibitor, this was quite noticeable from the foot traffic passing through the expo. Next year’s event in Minneapolis, MN will (hopefully) provide IBM with a great opportunity to represent the platform with resources from Rochester, MN. All of the Help/Systems companies will have a strong presence there, as always.

As I mentioned, Network Security’s new release began shipping this week. To celebrate, I will try to scoop an interview with Jill Martin, PowerTech’s product support manager, to tell us a little about the process of getting a product release out of the door, as well as some of the background on what is new and improved. Watch for that next week…

Last but not least, congratulations to Chris Smith of Wells Fargo, lucky winner of our Windows 7 Netbook giveaway last week.

Cheers!

- rt

I am not sure what happened to Spring, but as Orlando enjoys temperatures in the mid-90s, one could say summer is already here.

I am in Central Florida this week to attend the 50^th Anniversary COMMON annual meeting and exposition, hosted at the Orlando Marriott resort. This is my first time touching down in Florida, and I have not been disappointed. Although I do not have the complexion to ever consider becoming a “sun worshipper,” there is an immediate recognition of why this state attracts thousands of visitors from around the world: Clean streets, pristine buildings, and endless entertainment and activities for people of every age. I arrived a couple of days early and drove over to Cocoa Beach, and then down to West Palm Beach to visit my “brother” from my time as a foreign exchange student. It was wonderful to reconnect with him after a couple of years.

The conference started on Sunday with the normal pre-meeting lab sessions, and then formally commenced on Monday after with a large opening session hosted by COMMON president Wayne Madden, and keynote speaker Ross Mauri, General Manager of IBM Power Systems.

The exposition has been very busy for all of the Help/Systems’ family of companies, significantly up from the event last year in Reno. With a COMMON call for more participation from its members, hopefully this is something that continues to rebuild and increase. It has been a pleasure to visit with existing and prospective customers alike. It seems security is still very much on the minds of the attendees, with interest from every industry and every size organization within those industries.

We have been signing up large numbers of attendees who are interested in winning the beautiful Gateway netbook, and have been handing out logo t-shirts from SEQUEL, Help/Systems, and of course, PowerTech by the box.

Well, I have to run as the expo is about to begin again. Based on the last couple of days, we will need every resource available on the expo floor; a great problem to have!

If you were not able to attend this year’s meeting, I hope to see you all at next year’s event in Help/Systems’ hometown of Minneapolis, MN, from May 1 through 4.

Have a wonderful week!

- rt

Well, I am finally back in Minneapolis with no scheduled plans for travel until COMMON at the beginning of May. Of course, that can change at a moment’s notice so if you need any security services, let me know. Have bag; will travel!

I’d like to give a “Thank You” to Jill Martin for updating us here last week about her activities while I took a couple of (almost) vacation days in and around London with my children. What a spectacularly intense city that is! There is so much culture and history shoe-horned into a fairly small geographical space, and when you add in the vast population of commuters and visitors, you could be excused for becoming totally overwhelmed. One of the keys to a successful visit to London is understanding the incredible public transportation systems, and to not run yourself ragged trying to accomplish too much. (Easier said than done!)

From a professional perspective, it was a very successful trip. Although phones and e-mail are quick, cheap, and efficient methods of communication, there is something irreplaceable about an old-fashioned, face-to-face meeting and a firm handshake. Spending time with the Help/Systems International sales teams from the UK, France, and Switzerland was very enlightening, as we discussed and compared the security requirements of IBM i customers in the United States and Europe. I also ran through the PowerTech security information with the technical support team prior to a customer workshop in Farnborough. We had to move the event due to more registered attendees than seats in the Help/Systems office, and it was a fantastic four hours that flew by as we covered everything from user profile configuration to system values, to best practices for object authority configuration.

Since last visiting the U.K., one of the things that was noticeably different for me was how credit and debit retail transactions are now entirely “chip-and-PIN” based. If you are reading this from the U.S., you may have no idea what I am talking about—just as I had no idea until I got there. There are two main challenges with credit cards transactions at the point of sale using the more traditional “swipe and sign” technique:

1. Determining that the physical card is not a counterfeit. The availability of swipe devices that read all of the data from a card’s magnetic strip means that it is not difficult to manufacture cards that appear to be completely legitimate, and that swipe with all of the information of a genuine card.
2. Verifying that the card user is the actual owner of the card. This is normally accomplished by comparing the signature of the user with some form of formal identification such as a driver’s license. Unfortunately, this puts the responsibility of identity verification on the shoulders of the retail organization, instead of with the card user. Comparing a (commonly out-of-date) photo to a person’s physical likeness slows down transactions, and is fraught with human error. In my U.S. travel experience, it is rare for a sales clerk to even check the signature. Although it is against most cardholder agreements, I often write “Ask for ID” on the signature panel of my cards, and that does seem to help prompt a clerk to check my credentials. Unfortunately, if they “catch” a person trying to use someone else’s card, I have witnessed people successfully justifying it to the clerk.

By the end of 2006, U.K. retailers joined the initiatives of several other European nations and fully adopted a new point-of-sale mechanism that uses so-called smart cards, more commonly referred to “chip-and-PIN” cards. These cards, which look like regular credit cards, contain a small micro-chip that is read by a special reader device that looks similar to any other credit card processing machine but allows the card to be inserted. The embedded chip helps authenticate the card, thereby addressing the first challenge above. The requirement for a personal PIN to be entered instead of a traditional signature solves the second challenge, as the assumption is that your PIN number is highly confidential.

Use of smart-cards provides a couple of additional advantages over traditional signature transactions. First, most of the readers are portable devices, so the entire transaction can be handled without having to hand over your credit card to a complete stranger, as is common in the United States. Second, disabled users can now more easily use credit cards even when signatures are difficult or impossible.

While countries that use smart cards report significant declines in credit card fraud, there are currently a few disadvantages to this technology—especially for foreign travelers. Card numbers from PIN-based cards are being used fraudulently more easily in non-PIN countries, as no PIN is required. While most locations still have the capability to swipe cards from chipless cards, this becomes more difficult with unattended point-of-sale devices such as ticket machines and, from my own personal experience, clerks that are not particularly well-trained on processing a transaction using a chip-less card. Naturally, as additional countries adopt the smart card technology, these challenges will become less and less of an issue.

Upon my return last week, I began to research why this type of technology is not currently in-use in the United States. I was surprised to learn that it appears to be based purely upon the massive cost of replacing every point-of-sale terminal in comparison with the relatively low cost of credit card fraud here. However, as more and more countries adopt this technology, it will place pressure onto the U.S. to adopt it as well. I personally think that it would be a huge step forward in getting control of international credit card fraud.

Before I wrap up for this week, I would like to thank everyone that sent me 40^th birthday wishes, and also to my Minneapolis cohorts—I mean colleagues—that “decorated” my office in black prior to my return. Payback is a …. Well, you know the expression!

Regards,

- rt

Robin’s not the only one on the road!

As Robin has been criss-crossing the U.S. and flying over the pond to visit the Old Country, I have been on a whirlwind tour myself. I started by visiting RSA in San Francisco, CA for a few days, before stopping in our Seattle, WA office.

I have attended COMMON and the IBM Technical Conference several times over the years, and I have to say, the number of people at RSA is just mind-boggling! If you have never attended the RSA conference, it is quite a sight to see! Here I found thousands of people, hundreds of vendors, and a large selection of security topics to participate in. It was quite exciting to see such a buzz around the topic of security. If RSA is any indication, 2010 will be a big year for security projects!

My second week of travels brought me back to San Francisco, CA to kick off my workshop tour. I started in Oakland, CA, traveled to Irvine, CA, and then to Las Vegas, NV. The goal of these workshops was to help people get started with their IBM i Security Policy.

Some of the things we discussed included:

• Why a security policy is so important in today’s environment
• What government regulations and standards are driving the security policy projects
• Components of your security policy, both from a corporate perspective and specific to IBM i
• Business requirements considerations for your security policy
• Who to include in your security policy review team
• How to audit your IBM i
• What reports are available to support your security policy and how they are executed
• How PowerTech can help – tools available to help assess your system and simplify reporting

I really enjoyed working with everyone who attended my workshop, and hope everyone learned something valuable that can be applied to their security policy – I know I learned something from each workshop!

If you are interested in attending a workshop on this topic watch our newsletter, PowerNews, or check the blog for more cities and dates. I will be continuing my workshop tour over the next few months. I hope to see you in the future!

Well, a lot has happened for me since last week. After returning from Portland on Wednesday, I quickly laundered my clothes and repacked my suitcase. Less than 24 hours later, I headed back to the Minneapolis airport, this time with my two teenage kids; Jodan 15, and Sydney 13. We boarded a non-stop flight to London’s Heathrow airport. At 33,000 feet, and a temperature of -70 degrees Fahrenheit, we all said a temporary goodbye to the United States coastline, and I said a permanent goodbye to my “30’s.” A big sign of advancing years was that I had completely forgotten about the event until my daughter reminded me with a “Happy Birthday, Dad!” as we passed midnight.

As many of you know, I was born and raised in the United Kingdom and came to the U.S. twenty years ago as a high school foreign exchange student. I fell in love with Iowa back then, and upon my return home I started planning how I could come back. I took a job as a trainee programmer, and found myself learning to write RPG code on an AS/400. Eighteen months later, I took the plunge and packed all my worldy possessions into several large suitcases and never looked back.

For a number of reasons, eleven years has slipped by since my last return. I am now retraining myself in the art of driving on the left,and steering on the right! I am also quickly (re)adopting the accent of my ancestors, and reaquainting myself with the mighty Fish ‘n’ Chip.

The business purpose for my traveling here this week is due to the growth that we are seeing in security conversations in Europe. After a successful year at PowerTech, our Help/Systems International division is looking at ways to expand their contribution to that success. I will be working with the sales team to identify ways to best service new customers, for example by leveraging our fantastic no-charge compliance assessment offering. The technical teams are going to be briefed on a number of pertinent security topics, as well as discuss some aspects of product and operating system security.

Wednesday afternoon (10am CST in Minneapolis) Jill Martin, PowerTech’s product manager, and myself will connect the 4,000 miles between the two Help/Systems offices via WebEx to host our weekly Webinar security session. On Thursday, I am excited to be hosting a security workshop in the vein of the ones that I have been holding across the U.S. during the last couple of months. This session is now bordering on being “sold out,” so if you are interested, go to www.powertech.com and register.

Finally, I am taking a couple of days off at the beginning of next week to enjoy a little time with my UK-based family, and to show my kids more of “the old country.” I will be back in Minneapolis later in the week.

Have a great week everyone!

The  Oregon Trail covered  2,000 miles and took about six months to travel. Used up until to the mid-1800’s, the trail led travelers across what later became six states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. Some 150 years later, my trip took only a week and involved Nevada, Utah, California, and Oregon.

My trip started in Reno, Nevada, with a visit to the local Reno/Sparks user group. I presented the popular “Top 10 vulnerabilities of IBM i that you need to fix NOW” and gave away another gift card and a number of great PowerTech t-shirts.

Last week also marked an exciting time for the PowerTech team back in Minneapolis with the release of a new version Network Security. Version 6 of our popular exit program solution includes a cleaner user interface, several new reports, and the ability to set rules for specific objects and IFS stream files. Watch for the formal announcements and press release.

I opted not to return to Minneapolis for the weekend, and instead drove the 90 minutes to South Lake Tahoe which straddles the Nevada/California state line. If you haven’t visited this part of the world, you are missing a treat. I visited when I was in town last Spring for COMMON, but seeing it in the midst of perfect winter conditions is spectacular, and skiers—cross-country and downhill—are in heaven here! The highlights for me included the bizarre sight of snow covered beaches, and the breathtaking Emerald Bay.

I arrived in Oregon late on Sunday night. On Monday, I conducted a security workshop at the offices of MSI Systems Integrators in downtown Portland. Afterward, I met with Sirius Computer Solutions, another PowerTech security partner, to talk about their growth in their security practice, and how PowerTech can provide additional sales support to their extensive organization. I am looking forward to following up on some of the action items that we put together.

The main purpose of my visit to Portland was to present to the local user group. On Tuesday, I repeated the popular session on the “Top 10 vulnerabilities of IBM i that you need to fix NOW.” This was one of the most engaging groups I have had the pleasure of meeting, and the normal 60 minute presentation ran close to two hours based on great questions and pertinent side discussions.

After the session, I followed the recommendation of one of the session attendees and took a short drive to the Columbia River Gorge. Even though the light was beginning to fail, I was able to capture some memorable images of the impressive Multnomah Falls, a combination of two water falls with a combined height of 611ft, more than three times the height of the Niagara Falls that I visited last month.

I fly back to Minnesota on Wednesday for a quick turnaround to repack my suitcase and then I am off to the Help/Systems, International office in the U.K. On a personal level, this trip has special significance as I was born and raised a short distance from the office location in Fleet. It has been almost 11 years since I last returned, and my two teenage children will be accompanying me back “home.”

I look forward to speaking with you again next week from England!

March is a big month for Massachusetts! On the 5^th, we see the official kickoff of “Maple Month,” which is a celebration of “all things maple.” Scheduled events include numerous pancake breakfasts and tours of local sugarhouses that open their doors to show visitors how sap from the maple trees is boiled into a syrup. If you would like to learn about the interesting syrup-making process, including how to make your own, check out the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association. Just be aware that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup!

On the compliance front, March 1^st marked the deadline to comply with the wide-reaching Massachusetts Law 201 CMR 17.00, which requires any business with 1 or more records of information about a Massachusetts resident to adequately protect their data. This new law complements the existing state breach notification law (General Law 93H), which allows for civil penalties of up to $50,000 for data breaches. What is groundbreaking about this law is that it is much more specific than other data protection laws about how the data is to be protected, and the fact that it affects companies not otherwise in a regulated industry.

201 CMR 17 consists of 5 sections which outline the scope, responsibility, and requirements for compliance. There is a definition of what is considered a “data breach;” primarily described as the unathorized acquisition or use of unencrypted data (or encrypted data in conjunction with the encryption key). All data that meets the “personal information” criteria requires protection, and it is the responsibility of the data owner or licensee to safeguard that information with a comprehensive security program.

Highlights of that security program include the requirement of a documented security policy, regular monitoring to ensure that the security program is working to prevent unauthorized access (or use) of personal data, and detailed documention of incident response. To ensure incidents may be investigated, the law also requires data breaches to be reported to the state’s Attorney General.

PowerTech is well positioned to assist organizations running IBM i that are required to comply with 201 CMR 17. Our Network Security access control and Authority Broker solutions work together with the IBM i operating system to satsify section 17.04 2a, which states that methods be implemented to “restrict access to records and files containing personal information to those who need such information to perform their job duties.” And Compliance Monitor can assist with paragraph 4, which requires personnel perform “reasonable monitoring of systems, for unauthorized use of or access to personal information.” But it doesn’t stop there! Our security experts can assist with configuring the operating system controls, and our leading technology partnerships can assist with encryption and anti-virus requirements.

The law was written to make companies take a “risk-based” approach to compliance that takes into account the size of the company, the type and amount of data being stored, as well as the nature of the business. There was also a well-publicized shift in the deadline for compliance from August 2009 to March 2010. That day has now come!

A complete copy of the law may be found at: 201 CMR 17.00.

The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation (OCABR) also maintains a number of online resources regarding identity theft, including an FAQ on complying with law 201 CMR 17.00.

I fly out again Wednesday, on my way to Reno, Nevada. I am looking forward to this trip as I fell in love with the Reno/Tahoe area during my visit for COMMON 2009. I will be conducting a security workshop at the impressive Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, and also presenting the popular “Top 10 Security Risks You Need To Fix NOW” to the Reno-Sparks Midrange Users Group. From there I head to Portland, a new city for me, but one that I have heard is spectacularly beautiful. This will involve another workshop at the offices of a regional PowerTech partner, MSI Systems Integrators, and then a session for the Portland Users Group.

Have a great week, and I will be sharing an update from Portland next week.

It was another week on the road, this time heading slightly south to St Louis, Missouri. It was great to get away from the snow, although the air seemed just as cold as in Minneapolis. To say that it would be nice to feel a warm breeze at this point would be an understatement!

One of my first duties in town was to conduct our weekly PowerTech Webinar. The Webinar was titled Protect IBM i (AS400) Data From FTP, ODBC, and Remote Command, and it’s always one of the most popular Webinars that we do. It still surprises me that we have so many people attend this topic, and ask such great questions such as why IBM i is often exposed from a lack of access control, or auditing of network-initiated transactions. I suppose the statistic that 65% of IBM i servers that we audit still have no exit programs registered might explain some of the interest—even after two decades of awareness of this problem.

I was thrilled to also be presenting the first session of our new regional security workshops to a full room of attendees. For several hours, we whittled our way through numerous important aspects of IBM i security—from system values to adopted authority and from special authorities to network access. Based on the positive comments made on the evaluation forms, the class was a resounding success! It always makes it fun when an idea comes to fruition, and especially when it is so well received. Thanks to the IBM i team at MSI Systems Integrators for hosting the event at their downtown facilities, and for providing lunch for all of the attendees.

After the class, I traveled the 90 miles or so to Jefferson City and engaged with the mid-Missouri users group, presenting a session titled Top 10 Security Vulnerabilities. I would like to offer my appreciation to Huber and Associates for inviting me to present at their location, and also for the interest and interaction I received from the group. This presentation actually ran long because of some of the great discussion that we were having. Before I left, we emptied another box of cool PowerTech t-shirts, and raffled another gift-card.

I am now going to be back in the office for a couple of weeks to catch up on some of my other daily responsibilities, including helping host our upcoming online training classes for Network Security. After that, I will head out again for the next workshop and user group stops, this time in Nashville, Tennessee, and Buffalo, New York. I am especially excited about going to Buffalo, as it is being hosted at a PowerTech customer location. Plans are also being worked on for Reno and Portland events in early March, so if you work in those areas, we invite you to join us.

Before I close this week’s entry, I want to take a moment to say that my thoughts are with the family of IBM’s Craig Johnson, who died this past week in a car accident in Northern Iowa. Blizzard and whiteout conditions on Interstate 35 led to a massive 40-vehicle pile-up. This is the exact same route that I take weekly between Des Moines and Minneapolis, and I just happened to have stayed in Minneapolis that weekend due to my back-to-back travel plans. It certainly brings home how life can change in an instant, and how important it is to live each day as if it is your last.

Stay Warm!